


No More Running, Barry.

by Babe_Ruthless



Category: Glee, Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Author Is Sleep Deprived, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry is 31, Dancing and Singing, Dark Past, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Kara is 28, Karry, M/M, Made For Each Other, Marriage, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Protective Kara Danvers, Rare Pairings, Sebastian Smythe is Barry Allen | The Flash, Singing, Superflash - Freeform, Wordcount: Over 20.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babe_Ruthless/pseuds/Babe_Ruthless
Summary: Barry Allen is married.Barry Allen has a son.Barry Allen is thirty-one.Barry Allen was Sebastian Smythe.Barry has been running from Sebastian for fourteen years, trying to forget who he was and what he'd done. But his past is coming back to haunt him in the form of an invitation. The Warblers and New Directions are coming to Central City, and Kara wants Barry to make amends. But can Barry be forgiven? Or does he need to forgive himself, first?
Relationships: Barry Allen & Kara Danvers, Barry Allen/Kara Danvers, Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 6
Kudos: 135





	No More Running, Barry.

**Author's Note:**

> This centers around the Superflash (Barry x Kara) ship. So if you aren't a fan of that ship, this is absolutely not the fic for you. It is rated for mentions of suicide and semi sexual content at the end. Originally this was supposed to be a multi-chapter fic, but I realized that I never finish those so I just made it into a REALLY LONG one shot. 
> 
> There is going to be a lot of inconsistencies, because I only write this around 4 am so I forget like half of what I'd written beforehand.

So far, Barry had done quite a good job at running from his past. He was married, had a son, and Kara had never heard the name ‘Sebastian Smythe’ before. 

Leaving behind the alias Sebastian Smythe was his perfect crime.

He would’ve gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for his uncle Warren. He’d forwarded a letter from Dalton to Barry’s home. 

Now he was sitting in the living room with Kara, preparing to explain the kind of person he’d been fourteen years ago.

\---

Kara leaned against the back of their tanned couch, a black envelope with red trimming on it was in her hand. The white letters on it stood out against the black, it read;

Sebastian Smythe  
1773 January Lane  
Westerville, OH, 43081

On the front it had a Forward To notice, written in his uncle’s handwriting saying;

Barry Allen  
972 Olden Ave  
Central City, MO, 61007

Originally, Kara thought it was nothing special. But when Barry seen it, he panicked and tried to act like it was nothing. But Barry was a horrible lair, so she knew something was up and she wanted an explanation. 

“… I want you to know I’m not the person I was back then. Please, let me explain everything before you say anything.” Barry started; his tone almost pleading.

“Barry, I don’t care who you were in the past. I love you, so please be honest with me. Who is Sebastian Smythe?” Kara said with a small sigh. Honesty was important to both of them, she knew that. 

“Well, it all started about five years after my Mom was murdered. When I entered High School, I started getting bullied, and it got really bad by the end of freshman year. Joe decided to pull me out and start homeschooling me after a particularly bad beating where my arm got broken in three places.” Barry said, Kara couldn’t help but flinch at his words. It was hard to imagine something like that, now that Barry had enhanced healing, neither of them had to worry about him getting too injured. But back when he was completely human, that was an entirely different feeling. 

“My uncle, Warren Smythe, found out. He was the State Attorney in Ohio, and he offered to let me stay with him and finish school at a place called Dalton Academy. It was a private school, and bullying could easily get you expelled there because they had a zero-tolerance policy. Joe thought getting out of Central City would be good for me, and I hadn’t seen my uncle in years, so I agreed to finish school in Ohio.” He explained, it was a bit long winded. Kara could tell he was trying to put off the identity as long as he could.

“When I was put into his custody, I was still being homeschooled. It was mostly bookwork, so he took me on a business trip with him. We went to Paris, and lived there for about eight months, give or take.” He said, shaking one hand back and forth in a ‘so-so’ motion. 

“Paris? That explains why you like to put Courvoisier in your coffee.” Kara said in a slightly amused tone. Barry let out a small chuckle and breathed out a soft ‘yeah’. 

“Anyway, I went back to Ohio the summer before my junior year. We registered at Dalton, but I didn’t want to tie the name ‘Barry Allen’ to anywhere outside of Central City. I thought maybe one of my bullies might find out. Maybe even come after me. So, Warren let me pick a new name and use his last name. I was trying to figure out a name when ‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’ came on the tv. So, Sebastian Smythe was born.” He said, moving his arms open like he was making a grand gesture. 

“Okay, now why exactly did you freak out when we got the letter?” Kara asked, waving the black envelope a bit. 

“Because it’s from Dalton, and Sebastian… He wasn’t a good person. I don’t know what’s inside, but it’s way more trouble than it’s worth.” He said, slouching back in the stiff armchair Kara made him sit in when he was in trouble. 

“What exactly did he do?” Kara asked, raising a brow. 

“Well… Where do I start?” Barry huffed, his eyes moving away from Kara’s to the ground.

“How about why he was the way he was?” She offered.

“Sebastian… He was like an alter ego, like The Flash in a way. As Sebastian, I could be confident and powerful, someone I could never be as Barry Allen. I thought… As long as I was like that, no one could push me around. That if I came off as intimidating, no one would stand against me. But one day… Kara, I took it way too far.” Barry said, sinking against the chair to the point it looked like he was trying to become one with it. 

“What do you mean? What did you do?” Kara asked hesitantly, thinking for a moment that he might’ve almost killed someone. She wasn’t too far off the mark. 

“I made out with a guy who was in a relationship… Then I almost blinded him.” He said with a deep sigh. Kara’s eyes widened. 

“You almost blinded someone?! Barry!” Kara all but shouted.

“It was an accident! I tried to throw a slushie at his boyfriend, but he stepped in between us. I put rock salt in the slushie so the ice wouldn’t melt, so he got hit directly in the eyes with ice, corn syrup, and rock salt. I didn’t mean to hit him,” Barry stated, cringing a bit at the memory. 

“A slushie? Barry, how childish could you be? Not to mention, you made out with a taken guy.” Kara reprimanded, clearly irritated by Sebastian’s actions. 

“I know, I know. Later, I apologized. It was really bad, so I turned over a new leaf. I wasn’t perfect, I admit that.” Barry said, holding his hands up in surrender. 

“Is that all?” Kara asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Barry rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“No…” His voice trailed off, letting his hand fall into his lap. “I might’ve made a guy commit suicide.” He whispered, if it wasn’t for Kara’s super hearing, she wouldn’t have heard him.

“Barry!” She gasped, quickly standing up. He quickly followed, standing up to make sure she didn’t run, he needed to finish explaining. 

“Don’t go Kara, let me finish, please.” He begged, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Kara didn’t move away, but didn’t sit down either. 

“I was at a bar, and I was angry and drunk, he flirted with me then asked me for advice on coming out of the closet… I told him to stay in the closet, then insulted him to a very bad degree.” Barry flinched at his own words. “I swear, it’s one of my biggest regrets. I’ve never forgiven myself for that, and I don’t think I ever will. I still think about him.” Barry said, sinking back down into the armchair. 

“Barry…” Kara said, but she didn’t say anything else. He took that as a sign to continue. 

“It was only then that I realized something. I realized that it’s all fun and games… Until it’s not.” He said, his voice quivering slightly, on the verge of tears. 

“The Warblers and I dedicated our Regional performance to him, but that would never even begin to make up for it.” Barry leaned forward a bit, not looking at Kara. 

She let out a sigh before leaning forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I will always love you Barry, no matter what. But I’m disappointed in you.” She said, walking over and sitting on the arm of the armchair.

“You think I’m not disappointed in myself? I did so much bad, and there’s nothing I can do to take any of that back. I tried to forget Sebastian, bury him in the deepest parts of my mind. He’s my dark side, the side of me I’ve never wanted you to know about. I wanted to take him to my grave.” Barry said, leaning over to put his head against her hip.

Kara looked down at the envelope. “How about we open this? I know you don’t want to remember, but it’s been fourteen years, hasn’t it? What could they possibly want with you after all this time?” She asked, placing her free hand on his head to run her fingers through his hair. 

“You do it, I don’t think I can even touch the thing.” He said quietly, so Kara pulled her hand away and unceremoniously ripped the envelope open, making Barry let out a soft wet chuckle. 

Kara opened the folded sheet of paper; it was a letter. She decided to read it out loud so Barry could hear it too.

“Dear Sebastian, 

It’s been a few years, hasn’t it Captain? I haven’t heard from you since you graduated! But I didn’t send this letter just to tell you that. I’m not sure how long it will take for this letter to find you, hopefully soon though! I wanted to let you know; the Warblers are having a sort of reunion. 

See, I work at Dalton now, the choir teacher. So by default, I chaperone the new Warblers on their trips. We won Sectionals and sort of Regionals, and all the Warblers from our time are meeting up for Nationals, having the support of Warblers from the past is a good motivator, isn’t it? 

Anyway, this year Nationals will be held in a place in Missouri called ‘Central City’. The New Directions will be there too, McKinley is going up against Dalton again (there was a tie at Regionals, so we both got to go, cool right?), so they jumped on board with the reunion idea. What I’m asking is do you want to meet up with everyone, I’m sure they all miss you. 

Hearing from you again would be great, Jeff and Trent are betting you’re dead. So, it would be a nice surprise. It’s being held at the Central City Opera House on April 16th, but thanks to yours truly, we were able to rent out a restaurant called Amarasia Oasis for a night so everyone is meeting there the night before. Well, that’s all for now. I hope we see you there. Call 440-xxx-xxxx if you need anything!

Sincerely, Thad

P.S. They rebuilt Dalton after the fire, by the way.”

Kara finished reading the letter, then looked at Barry, who had his eyes on the paper. 

“Warblers? Captain? Where you captain of some kind of bird club?” She asked, confused. 

“No, they are Dalton’s show choir. I was Captain for a while, how do you think I got so good at singing?” He asked, not looking away from the paper, Kara just shrugged in response. 

“They’re meeting up Friday… I think you should go.” Kara said after a moment of silence. The silence between them stretched out when Barry didn’t respond. 

“It sounds like they really miss you. They were your friends, right? You might’ve done a lot of bad, but if you still had friends, they deserve to see the person you’ve become. You learned from your mistakes, they should know that.” She said, reaching out and rubbing circles around the center of his back. 

“… Do you really think so?” He finally said, Kara slipped off the arm of the armchair and put the letter on the coffee table that sat at the center of the room. Then she walked back over and put both hands on his shoulders.

“Barry Allen. You are the kindest, sweetest, most self-sacrificing person I know. Maybe they didn’t like Sebastian Smythe, but I’m sure they’d love Barry Allen. Just give them a chance to meet the real you.” She said, giving him a soft smile. 

“Can you come with me? I know you’ve been sort of sick lately, but I think I need my lightning rod for support.” He said, standing up so he was taller than her again. 

“Of course, my scarlet speedster.” She hummed, wrapping her arms around his torso and placing her face into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist. 

“Remind me again, what did I do to deserve you?” He asked, she let out a breathy laugh against his neck. 

“Well, it all started when saved me when I was falling from an eighty story building. Even though I really didn’t need your help.” She said in an amused tone. “A few years later, I end up moving to Earth-1 and wearing this.” Kara said, holding up her hand to show the wedding ring with a diamond the shape of a rose on her ring finger. 

Kara pulled away and walked over to a wall, pulling a picture frame from it. “Six years later, we’ve got all this.” She said quietly.

Barry walked over and looked over her shoulder at the picture. It was their most recent, the quality wasn’t great, but it was a memory to remember. 

They were standing in the living room, their faces were kind of orange because the sun was still in the process of rising. It was slightly crooked because they were balancing the camera on a stack of books sitting on top of a chair, but it was still perfect. They were both smiling brightly, and standing between them was a young boy wearing a backpack. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes, a crooked smile that clearly mimicked Barry’s. He placed his hands on her waist. 

“Speaking of which, what will we do with him that night?” Barry asked, watching Kara return the picture to its place on the wall. 

“He’s a good kid, I’m sure it would be fine if we brought him with us. They’re your friends, do you think they’ll mind?” She asked. 

“Maybe if he comes, they’ll go easy on me.” He chuckled. 

“Well, I’ll go pick up Henry, you call that number on the letter and make sure it’s alright with your friend.” She hummed, pulling away. Kara didn’t look back as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed her glasses. She pulled her hair up into a pony tail, using the hair tie she kept on her wrist. She quickly slipped on her shoes and walked over to the window, finally looking back over to Barry. “I’ll be back in a flash.” She said with a wink, pushing open the window and disappearing. They both knew Henry liked to fly, so she’d fly him home whenever she got the chance. 

Barry walked over and picked up the letter, looking at the phone number on it. If he didn’t call, Kara would probably rant for a while then do it herself. 

He sighed and pulled his phone from his back pocket. He dialed the number, but hesitated for a moment. What if it was a fake number? What if this was all a set up? Some sort of joke? 

Barry pulled himself together, took in a deep breath, then pressed the green button. He pressed the phone against his ear, listening to it ring. Part of him was hoping it would be a fake number. 

“Hello?” A familiar voice came from the other side of the line. 

Barry found himself unable to speak, even if he could what was he supposed to say? ‘Hey, it’s the guy who killed a guy and almost blinded another!’

“Hello?” The voice asked again. 

“… Thad?” He asked, his tone unsure. 

“Sebastian? Sebastian Smythe? Is that you?” The voice said quickly, Barry wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. 

“Yeah, hey. I got your letter and decided to call. So… I’m not dead?” He wasn’t really sure what to say. What do you say to someone you haven’t spoken to in over a decade?

“Yes! Jeff and Trent owe me sixty bucks!” Thad said excitedly. 

“Wow, you always were good at receptions.” Barry snickered, sitting on the couch. He could feel the tickle of Sebastian in the back of his head, he quickly pushed it as far away as possible. 

“Yep, that’s our Bas alright.” Thad said, Barry could practically hear his smile. 

“Yeah, so what’s with this whole reunion thing you’re planning? Why did you invite me?” He asked, raising a brow, even though Thad couldn’t see his expression he did his best to make him feel it. 

“Oh, well like the letter said; we haven’t seen each other in ages. You know what they say, once a Warbler, always a Warbler. We couldn’t plan something like this without inviting our favorite Captain.” Thad said jokingly. 

“Well, if it was up to me, I probably would’ve thrown out the invite. But I got orders from the boss.” He responded with a small eye roll. 

“Boss? I don’t see anyone ever bossing around our Bassy.” Thad chuckled at the idea. 

“Then clearly you’ve never been married. The man isn’t allowed to make anymore decisions once he’s tied the knot.” Barry sighed, shaking his head. 

“Wait wait wait, hold up. Sebastian Smythe is married? Our resident playboy got hitched? I think I’m going to faint.” The other said dramatically. 

“So, who’s the lucky guy?” Thad questioned. 

“Kara Allen, she’s a girl.” Barry said automatically, it wasn’t until after he said it did he realize he probably should’ve said Kara Danvers, using her maiden name would’ve made it easier but he decided not to correct himself. 

“Wait… So you aren’t gay?” Thad asked, clearly confused. 

“Pansexual, actually. You really didn’t expect me to be married? I’m thirty-one, I’ve got to settle down at some point.” He commented. 

“What? Next thing you’re going to tell me is that you have kids?” Thad snickered. Barry didn’t respond, he wasn’t sure how to say that he had a five year old that his wife was on her way to pick up. But apparently his silence was a good enough answer. 

“Seriously? You’re a Dad? I think I’m going to faint; I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.” Thad said, still being overly dramatic. 

“What can I say? Fourteen years is a long time. That’s actually sort of why I called. Do you mind if I bring my family to the reunion? Kara wants to come, and I can’t exactly say no. It’s also a bit short notice for a babysitter, so Henry would have to come too.” He stated, adjusting the phone in his hand slightly. 

“Of course! I’m sure all the Warblers would love to meet the girl and kid who somehow manage to put up with our Sebastian on a daily basis.” Thad said, followed by a small laugh. 

“Oh, fuck off.” Barry said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Thad hummed from the other end of the line. “Anyway, I’ll see you at your boring reunion.” He said with a small smirk. 

“Always a pleasure to talk to you too. See you there.” Thad said, but the line went dead before Barry could reply. 

When Barry pulled the phone away from his ear, he realized that he’d let Sebastian slip out more than he’d had in the past fourteen years. 

“God, what am I getting myself into?” He groaned, he could tell they were home at the sudden gust of wind that entered the house. 

Barry immediately entered the Speed Force and ran in to swoop his son out of his wife’s arms before leaving the Speed Force as quickly as he’d entered. He looked at boy as he burst into a fit of giggles, the perks of having superheroes as parents, he got to see their powers every day. Yet he never seemed to get tired of it. 

Barry’s eyes went to Kara’s, she was smiling as per usual when this happened. 

“Looks like we can all go to the reunion. Apparently, everyone wants to meet the girl who keeps me in line.” He said, rolling his eyes. 

“Where are we going?” The small boy quipped up. Barry quickly turned his attention to his son. 

“We’re going to see some of Daddy’s old friends, they want to meet you. Do you want to come?” Barry asked, though he wasn’t really giving his son a choice, he wanted him to at least think he had one. As he predicted, the boy quickly nodded his head.

“I think it’s time we figure out what you’re going to wear.” Kara said, taking Henry from Barry’s arms. The boy let out a loud whine and struggled slightly, but he was no match for his Kryptonian mother, and he knew that, so he was quick to calm down. 

Barry laughed at his family; he still wasn’t sure what he did to deserve them. But you know what they say; Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. 

\---

Barry finished tying the red and black stripped tie around his neck. He was wearing an all-black suit with a white undershirt. He wore the tie for nostalgia sake, then took a deep breath. It wasn’t flashy, not like his clothes were in high school, but it was nice enough. He didn’t bother putting gel in his hair, he wasn’t trying to impress these people anymore. 

He heard the private bathroom door open, so he turned his head. The first thing he seen was his son bolting from inside, he wore a black and red plaid shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing the grey undershirt, then he wore normal jeans and Flash sneakers. He was a kid; they weren’t going to stuff him into some stiff suit.

Next, his eyes shifted to Kara who was standing in the bathroom doorway. 

“Well?” She asked, gesturing to her clothes. 

She wore a red dress that stopped at her knees. It had a sweetheart neckline, but it was covered by a slightly translucent fabric that came up and tied around her neck. Her tights were black, and her heels were silver and added about three inches to her height. Her hair was down and a bit curlier than usual, and her black lead glasses sat on her nose. She did wear makeup, but it was natural so aside from the lip gloss it was mostly unnoticeable. 

“I thought it would be a good idea to match.” She said, pushing away from the doorway to walk over to him. 

“You’re beautiful, but I’m not surprised since you always are.” He smiled, that kind of compliment never failed to make her blush. They’d been together for years, but they still acted like they were in the ‘honeymoon’ phase. 

He put his hands on her hips and pulled her forward, planting a soft kiss on her lips. 

“Ew!” Rang out a squeaky voice, it made both of them pull away to laugh. They looked at Henry, who was sitting on their bed, looking at them with scrunched up features. 

“You know, one day you’re going to do this with someone.” Barry said jokingly, earning a weak slap on his arm from Kara. Well, as weak as her slap could get, she was Supergirl after all, so it was still painful enough that he had to reach up and rub his arm. 

“Nuh-uh! Never, not in a bujillion years!” The boy said, crossing his arms. Kara let out a quiet snort and Barry laughed. 

“Never change, Henry. Never change.” He said, shaking his head. 

“We should get going, it starts at 6:00, right? It’s already 6:25. I’m not flying or running there; I spent a lot of time on Henry and I’s hair. We’re taking the car.” Kara said stubbornly. Barry decided not to fight against that argument, it wasn’t worth it.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fashionably late. Besides, Amarasia’s is only a five minute drive, we should be fine.” He shrugged.

Kara carried Henry out of the house while Barry locked the door behind them. As they walked towards the car, Barry turned his head to look back at their house. It was a two story house that sat closely between two others, it was average, nothing particularly special aside from the finger painting on the front where they’d taken their eyes off of Henry for two minutes when he was four. He reminded himself that he had a family, a home, a job. He couldn’t let Sebastian take over and get between him and that. 

“Barry!” Kara called out as she slipped into the passenger’s seat, he shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. He walked over to the car and got into the driver’s seat.

He started the car and reached down to adjust the stick to put it on reverse. He felt Kara’s hand move on top of his. 

“You’re ready for this, right?” She asked confidently.

“With you, I’m ready for anything.” He said with a small nod, she smiled and let go of his hand. He put the car in reverse and pulled out of their driveway. He pushed it back into drive and started driving down the street. 

He tried to be as confident as possible. These guys were his friends, but he’d abandoned them for years, what if they were mad at him? Plus, there will be members from New Directions there, he knew for a fact that some of them hated him. 

He glanced over to Kara. Despite being from a different Earth and also a different planet entirely, she still managed to avoid hesitation, even when she was walking into a situation blindly. 

It felt like they were in the car for hours before they parked on one of the only spots left on the curb a little bit away from the restaurant. He looked in the mirror to make sure it was safe to get out of the car, by the time he was able to step out, Kara was already waiting on the sidewalk balancing Henry on her hip.

Their walk to the restaurant was silent aside from Henry wanting to walk by himself, but Kara kept telling him that he’d get tired before they got there. 

She and Barry had enhanced endurance, so they could walk all night, but Henry couldn’t. They weren’t sure Henry would have powers, so they made him assume he was normal. Until he understood genetics, they wouldn’t say anything about powers. But something told them he’d figure it out soon, he was half Barry after all. 

When they got to the door, there was a man with a clipboard standing in front of it. He’d almost forgotten how much money Dalton actually had; they were literally able to hire a bouncer. 

“Hey, let us in.” Barry said sharply to the larger man. The man raised a brow and looked at them. 

“Names?” He asked. His eyes flicked between Barry, Kara, and Henry. 

“Sebastian Smythe, Kara Allen, Henry Allen.” He said, gesturing to each of them. The man made a few checks, before silently moving aside. Barry pushed open the door and held it open for Kara and Henry. 

“What was that?” Kara asked, finally placing Henry down. 

“Sorry… My inner Sebastian snapped a bit. I won’t do it again.” He said, already feeling a bit guilty. 

Barry was finally able to look around, it was a lot calmer than he expected. Then again, they were all adults now instead of hormonal teenagers.

“Sebastian!” A familiar voice shouted, his eyes snapped over to a table that was clearly full of Warblers. He could tell because their suits seemed to mimic the design of Dalton’s, but he knew those weren’t actual uniforms. The stitching was off. 

“Come on, I’d like you to meet a few people.” He said, looking over at Kara. He made his way over to the table, sending a smile at Thad who was still wildly gesturing him over. He glanced around, it didn’t look like Thad had captured much attention, he’d probably been doing this every time a person had walked in. 

When he was close enough, Thad got up and suddenly enveloped him in a hug. 

“It’s so great to see you, it’s been so long!” Thad said. Barry wondered why Thad was so excited to see him, he wasn’t exactly the greatest friend at school. 

“Yeah, for sure.” He nodded, giving a few small awkward pats to Thad’s back. 

After Thad pulled away, he finally noticed Kara and Henry. “Oh, you must be the boss lady I’ve heard so much about!” He said, smiling at her. 

“The what?” She asked, slightly confused.

“You know, the person who keeps Sebastian in check. You must really have your work cut out for you Mrs. Smythe.” He said, following it up with a small laugh. 

“Actually, it’s Mrs. Allen. Also, he’s a handful, but not in a bad way.” She replied, shaking her head at the idea. 

“Sebastian?” Came another familiar voice, one he wasn’t so pleased to hear. Their attention went to the person standing behind him before Thad could say anything. 

When he turned around, he didn’t bother to move when a fist came flying at his face, he knew he deserved the punch. He shut his eyes, expecting a painful blow, but it didn’t come. He opened his eyes and seen that Kara had Kurt Hummel in a wristlock. 

“Stop!” Barry all but shouted, his voice grabbing a bit of attention as he put a hand on her shoulder and tugged lightly. After a few seconds, Kara released Kurt from her hold. 

“He was going to hit you.” She said with a small huff, Henry was letting out small giggles. She was still holding him, and Barry couldn’t help but be impressed. She could attack someone and hold a child safely at the same time. 

“You can’t tell me I don’t deserve it.” He said in a reprimanding tone. 

“Barry, stop being so hard on yourself.” Kara sighed, she put Henry down when he started wriggling around restlessly. No sooner did she put him down did he rush over and kick Kurt in the shin while he was rubbing and rotating his wrist. The shorter male let out a yelp, Barry quickly swooped down and picked up Henry. 

“Yeah, that’s Sebastian’s kid.” Someone from the table behind him snickered. 

“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe he did that. Are you okay?” Barry asked, taking a step towards Kurt. 

“You couldn’t even teach your kid to be better than you? Why am I not surprised?” Kurt asked sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest, seemingly unphased by the injury. 

“Hey.” Kara warned, stepping in between Barry and Kurt. There was a sudden look of realization in Kurt’s eyes. 

“Marley? Marley Rose? You married Sebastian Smythe?” He asked, blinking a few times. 

“Marley… Who? No, my name is Kara Allen. We’ve never met.” Kara insisted, crossing her arms while glaring at him. 

“Blaine!” Kurt called out, turning his head to look at a table. A person Barry and Kara both recognized got up and started approaching.

“Barry. Barry. That’s the Music Meister.” Kara whispered, her body visibly tensing as he got closer. 

“No, that’s Blaine Anderson. Music Meister must have mimicked his appearance after someone from this Earth, that person was probably Blaine.” He whispered back, leaning toward her a bit. “It’s okay, just calm down.” Barry said soothingly. Kara relaxed as the familiar man stopped in front of them. 

“Sebastian, it’s good to see you.” Blaine gave Barry a small nod, then looked over to Kara. 

“I remember you, Marley, right? We were in the New Directions together, I was a senior and you were a sophomore, right? ” He asked, smiling at her. “It’s been so long, we haven’t heard from you in a while.” 

“No, my name is Kara. Do I really look like this Marley girl?” She asked, Blaine turned around and walked over to one of the more crowded tables. There was a string of annoyed noises coming from it when Blaine picked up a book and came back to them. He was holding what appeared to be a yearbook. 

He flipped through a few pages before getting to the sophomores. After a few seconds of looking, he turned the book towards them and pointed to a picture. It was the spitting image of Kara, except she had brown hair. 

“Wow.” Kara said, tilting her head as she looked at the picture. “We’ll be right back.” She said calmly, grabbing Barry by his sleeve and pulling him away before any of them could protest. 

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to have a doppelganger here!” She hissed once they were alone. “How did you not know about her? You went to school with them!” Kara whisper-yelled. 

“I never paid much attention to anyone outside of Blaine and Kurt. None of them were a threat, so I didn’t bother. Besides, I went to Dalton and she went to McKinley.” He scoffed. He put down Henry before turning his attention back to Kara.

Kara let out an exasperated sigh. “I have to admit… You looked kind of familiar when I first met you, but I couldn’t place it, so I ignored it.” Barry admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Okay, lets just go over there and set the record straight.” She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back over to the two men. 

“I should formally introduce myself.” Kara began, pulling the two away from their conversation so their attention was now on her. 

“My name is Kara Allen, I’m Barry’s wife. We’ve been together for six years.” She gave them a short explanation, the two exchanged glances.

“I’m Kurt Anderson, and this is my husband, Blaine Anderson.” Kurt said, gesturing from himself to Blaine. Before Kara could reply, Blaine cut in. 

“I thought you were Sebastian’s wife, who is Barry?” He asked curiously, tilting his head slightly. 

Kara gestured to Barry, then looked at him expectantly. She didn’t plan on explaining his identity, that was Barry’s problem, not hers.

“Yeah… I’ll just rip the band-aid off. My real name is Barry Allen, I was born and raised in Central City, my parents are both dead.” He said, the last half of his sentence was said quickly. 

“Wait, what?” Blaine asked with a blank expression. Barry could feel the eyes of the Warblers behind him, they were standing close enough to the table for his voice to be heard clearly as he spoke. 

A light crackling sound filled the room for a moment, taking everyone by surprise. Their heads snapped to its origin.

Henry was holding a microphone that came from a karaoke machine that looked to be rented. No music played, but their son had already started singing into the microphone. For a child, he had a lovely voice, but it wasn’t at all as experienced as all the people in the room, so everyone’s attention went to the five year old. 

“Look for the bare necessities,  
The simple bare necessities,  
Forget about your worries and your strife,  
I mean the bare necessities,  
Old Mother Nature's recipes,  
That brings the bare necessities of life.”

The boy started to sing a familiar song that everyone in the room recognized, it got a few laughs from people and a few whispered questions from others. 

“Damn it…” Barry was about to walk over, but Thad put a hand on his shoulder.

“Look.” The other man said quietly, Barry noticed a few people start humming, adding music to the boys singing. More show choir veterans started to join in, they seemed to enjoy a random kid singing. Barry looked at Kara, she was wearing an embarrassed smile, one of her hands reached up and covering part of her face. 

“Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,  
I couldn't be fonder of my big home,  
The bees are buzzin' in the tree,  
To make some honey just for me,  
When you look under the rocks and plants,  
And take a glance at the fancy ants,  
Then maybe try a few.”

The boy was jumping in an attempt at dancing. There were chuckles from the small crowd as the acapella music grew a bit louder. Henry seemed captured in the song, it reminded Barry of himself when he first became a Warbler. 

“The bare necessities of life will come to you,  
They'll come to you!”

Henry sang brightly, jumping up a bit higher before spinning around in a circle.

“Look for the bare necessities,  
The simple bare necessities,  
Forget about your worries and your strife,  
I mean the bare necessities,  
That's why a bear can rest at ease,  
With just the bare necessities of life.”

A few people joined in to sing the chorus with him, but Henry didn’t seem to mind the background vocals.

“Now when you pick a pawpaw,  
Or a prickly pear,  
And you prick a raw paw,  
Next time beware,  
Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw,  
When you pick a pear,  
Try to use the claw,  
But you don't need to use the claw,  
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw.”

Some people seemed impressed by the fact that a kid that young could memorize this much of a song. Though it probably helped that The Jungle Book was Henry’s favorite movie. 

“The bare necessities of life will come to you,  
They'll come to you!”

He giggled that part out instead of singing it. Barry thought it was funny now entertained these people were over a kid with a microphone. 

“So just try and relax, yeah cool it,  
Fall apart in my backyard,  
Cause let me tell you something little britches,  
If you act like that bee acts, uh uh,  
You're working too hard.  
And don't spend your time lookin' around,  
For something you want that can't be found,  
When you find out you can live without it,  
And go along not thinkin' about it,  
I'll tell you something true.”

Henry kept singing and jumping, his movements sudden and random. It made the song even more endearing.

“The bare necessities of life will come to you,  
They'll come to you!”

Henry finished by falling to his knees and doing an attempt at jazz hands. He stood up and his chest puffed out pridefully. The people who’d been watching started to laugh. 

Kara took this as her cue to hurry over and pick up their child. He’d garnered so much attention that people watched her walk back over to Barry and hand Henry off to him. Barry started to quietly reprimand the boy. 

“Don’t be too hard on him, that was cute. He did a good job of lifting everyone’s spirits.” Said an unfamiliar voice, Barry and Kara looked over to the new addition to their ever-growing group. It was a mixed man who stood around the same height as Barry, he had broad shoulders and was a bit more muscular than himself. 

“Maybe, but he still shouldn’t be running off like that.” Kara said sternly, looking at their son. The man’s eyes widened when he took in Kara’s features. 

“Marley? You married this Warbler guy?” He asked in surprise, Kara let out an annoyed sigh. 

“I’m not this ‘Marley’ girl. My name is Kara Allen, I don’t want to have to tell anyone again.” She said, clearly agitated. 

The man didn’t seem to believe her, but didn’t push the topic. He just walked over to a nearby table, his eyes never leaving Kara.

“How about a song?” Thad asked before any of the New Directions could annoy them further. 

Barry planned on quickly turning the opportunity down. He didn’t want to draw anymore attention to themselves than they already had. But Henry seemed intent on making his parents look as good as possible. 

“My Mom and Dad are the best singers! They can sing lots better than anyone in this room, no one in the world is ever gonna be better than them!” He said proudly, Kurt rolled his eyes in response. 

“I bet Sebastian-or rather, Barry- is way too rusty to sing anything properly.” Kurt said, looking at his hand and picking at his perfectly manicured nails. 

“You wanna bet on that Lady Hummel?” Barry asked, a bit too aggressively. Kara cleared her throat, attempting to get Barry’s attention. But Barry wasn’t affected as much as he’d normally be, he reached out and grasped her hand, pulling her over to the machine. 

He wordlessly pressed a few buttons, taking a minute to find the right song. He needed something slow, something they could both sing to. They were best at slow songs.

“You know this one.” Barry commented, finally pressing a play button. Kara sighed, but picked up one of the microphones, while Barry grabbed the other. He put Henry back on the floor, the boy quickly sat down so he could listen to his parents sing. It was something he genuinely enjoyed. 

A melody that was, by their reactions, clearly familiar to Kurt and Blaine. 

Barry was the first to pick up when the music started playing. 

“Some people like to get away,  
Take a holiday from the neighborhood.” 

He began, before Kara picked up right behind him. 

“Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood,  
But I’m takin’ a Greyhound on the Hutson River Line.”

She sang, Barry joined in at the next line, so they were both singing to each other.  
“I’m in a New York state of mind…”

Kara’s voice trailed off and Barry continued to sing while her voice was still trailing off.

“Seen all those movie stars,  
And their fancy cars and their limousines.”

His voice quieted as Kara picked up. 

“Been high in the Rockies, under the evergreens,  
But I know what I’m needin’,  
And I don’t wanna waste more time.”

She paused for a second to allow Barry to join in.

“I’m in a New York state of mind…” 

This time they held the note a little longer, before Kara stopped and Barry picked up. They finally started to move more. Kara used his hand to spin against his arm, pressing her back to his chest and he held her there for a moment as he sang.

“It was so easy livin’ day by day,  
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues,  
But now I need a little give and take.” 

He sang, letting Kara spin away from him, watching her red dress twirl around as she moved and picked up the song without a hitch when he stopped.

“The New York Times and the Daily News,  
Comes down to reality,  
And it’s fine with me cause I’ve let it slide,  
I don’t care if it’s Chinatown or up on Riverside,  
I don’t have any reasons,  
I’ve left them all behind…  
I’m in a New York state of mind..” 

She moved back towards him when she got to the last line and wrapped her arms around his neck, moving the microphone away from her and moved in closer so they were now both singing into the same microphone. Barry quickly picked up behind her, his voice steady despite his blushing face, six years and he still blushed like a schoolgirl in these situations. 

“I don’t have any reasons,  
Cause I’ve left them all behind,  
I’m in a New York, I’m in a New York state of mind…” 

They both held the last note for a while until both of their voices faded out and the music came to a soft stop. Kara leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before she pulled away. 

There was a loud applause from the crowd, but neither of them seemed to notice. Barry still red from the kiss, and Kara leaning down to pick up Henry who was still planted near Barry’s feet.

Kurt and Blaine had exchanged glances. Barry couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Kara could, and they were getting on her last nerve with this ‘Marley’ bullshit. 

“That was literally her audition song, there’s no way that isn’t Marley.” Kurt said quietly. Blaine hummed for a moment before answering. 

“They don’t really sing the same though, Kara’s is smoother, and Marley’s was full of energy. Maybe they’re just lookalikes?” Blaine said, giving her the benefit of the doubt. 

“It’s been fourteen years, her singing could have changed. She’s older and more experienced.” Kurt persuaded. 

Kara decided to kill the conversation, she pulled Barry’s microphone away from him and spoke into it. “Hi, my name is Kara Allen. I’m not Marley Rose, so don’t ask. I’ve never even been to Ohio. I live here in Missouri, always have.” She huffed out, before putting it down and pulling Barry off stage with their son balanced on her hip. She wasn’t lying when she said she’d always lived in Missouri, ever since she got to this Earth, her home had been in Missouri with Barry. 

“You’ve still got it Seb- I mean, Barry.” Blaine said with a nervous laugh when they got back over to the table. 

“We never got a real explanation for that by the way. If your name really is Barry, why did you tell everyone it was Sebastian?” Kurt said, leaning his body slightly. Blaine quickly walked over to a mostly empty table, then pulled two chairs from it and moved them over to their area so he and Kurt could sit down. 

Kara sat down on a chair at the table with Henry on her lap, but Barry stayed standing. Of course, they wanted a clear explanation, anyone would.

Barry let out a deep sigh, looking over at Kara who sent him an encouraging smile.

“It was something like witness protection almost? I had to move in with my uncle and change my name to get away from really bad bullying. Broken bones, death threats, that kind of thing. It was safer but…” His voice trailed off, so Blaine made an assumption and spoke. 

“You became the very thing you hated. You needed a wall, so you built one and named it Sebastian Smythe.” Blaine said, Barry only nodded in response. Kara was surprised with how quickly he’d managed to pick up on that. 

“So, when I graduated, I came back to Central City and became Barry Allen again. I went to college, got a master’s degree in criminology and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. I graduated early and became a CSI at twenty-three and I met Kara a little while after I graduated. I tried to forget Sebastian, Dalton, and Westerville as a whole. I didn’t even tell Kara about it before I got the invitation.” He told the others; he could practically feel Kara’s eyeroll. 

“Wow, so you just changed identities and just decided to forget every bad thing you did? You almost blinded Blaine for Christ’s sake!” Kurt said, raising his voice. Barry discreetly leaned back and put a hand on Kara’s to keep her from doing anything. 

“The slushie was supposed to be a joke, but it went too far. I was a stupid kid, and a major asshole. I admit that.” He said, moving his hands up in surrender. 

“That’s no excuse for-“ Kurt started, but Blaine grabbed his hand to successfully cut him off. 

“Se-Barry, I already forgave you. You’re right, we were just kids. I think we’ve grown out of that phase. You still have a snappy mouth, but you don’t seem like a bad guy anymore.” Blaine said calmly, it made Barry relax a bit. 

He was surprised with how good they were taking it. He was a bully who lied about pretty much everything, but they (or at least Blaine) were forgiving him. He really didn’t feel like he deserved it.

“Barry is a good person, he’s helped so many people. He’s saved so many innocent lives, he’s good at what he does.” Kara said, making it sound like a side comment. 

“Yeah, my Dad is a superhero! He saves people all the time!” Henry said excitedly, it made Barry laugh nervously. 

“Every kid thinks their Dad is a superhero. It’s cute.” Barry said, glancing at Kara who was whispering something to Henry. 

“By the way, you never told me what you guys do. For work, I mean.” He continued. 

“Oh, well, we’re actually both Broadway Actors now.” Blaine said with a smile, Kurt gave a small proud nod. 

“You’re much better off than us. A CSI and a newspaper reporter, plus we’ve got a kid to pay for too.” Barry chuckled. He decided against adding the fact that he and Kara both needed to eat thousands of calories per day, so they had to buy a LOT of food, also the fact he owned The Star Labs Museum. His words got him a small playful slap to the hip from his wife. 

“Probably, but you seem happy.” Kurt said, Barry was pretty sure that was the closest he’d ever get to a compliment from the other man. Barry looked over to Kara and Henry for a moment, before looking back to them. 

“Yeah… I don’t think I could ever be happier. Kara and Henry are my world, I couldn’t ask for a better life honestly. I always ask myself what I did to deserve them.” He chuckled, crossing his arms and shaking his head slightly. 

“It’s still hard to believe that Sebastian Smythe would ever settle down with someone. Let alone end up being a Dad, I thought you’d end up being a homeless stripper or something.” Kurt shrugged; Blaine let out a small embarrassed sigh. 

“No, it’s fine. I agree with him. With all the bad karma I’ve gathered, that probably should’ve been what happened to me. Like I said, with all the bad I’ve done, I don’t understand how I ended up with the life I have.” He said, leaning back a bit. 

“Well, you turned over a new leaf, right? Maybe it was a reward for working on becoming a better person.” Blaine offered. 

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have married him if he was a bad person.” Kara couldn’t help but cut in. It was true, the idea of Barry being a bad person was painful. That’s why she didn’t like who he was before.

“We’ll take your word for it.” Kurt said, still making no attempt to hide his disdain for Barry.

“So… What are you guys going to do after the Warblers win Nationals?” Barry asked with a bit of snark in his tone. 

“Oh, no. This years New Directions are going to take that trophy, I’ve seen them in action. No one can beat them; I’d go as far as saying that they might be as good as us.” Kurt said with a fake smile, grabbing Blaine’s hand. 

“As good as you? The Warblers shouldn’t have any problems then.” Barry said with a signature Sebastian Smirk™. 

“Lets just… Let the best team win, okay?” Blaine said, ignoring the glares that were being exchanged between Barry and Kurt. 

“Oh we will.” Thad said, standing up and moving around the table to throw his arm over Barry’s shoulders. A few of the older Warblers watched Thad’s action with bated breath, like they expected Barry to lash out at him. If they were still in high school, he probably would have. He’d always hated most forms of physical contact, especially if he didn’t initiate it. But Barry was unbothered by it, he was phased by it anymore. When you’re a superhero, you can’t be afraid to be touched. 

Barry’s phone started buzzing in his pocket, so he pulled it out and answered. Cisco’s voice rang through it, Kara was also listening in. 

“Barry, someone broke into Central City Bank. It’s a meta who can control… Paper? I don’t know, but he’s got a little army of origami frogs and tigers.” Cisco explained hesitantly, the volume on his phone was low enough that not even Thad could hear Cisco, but the distant sound of voices had made Cisco stutter slightly. 

“Is it a call from work? You should take it outside and set them straight.” Kara said, giving him chance to save the day. Or, night, in this case.

“Sometimes the CCPD likes to call him and ask questions about evidence. These calls normally take about fifteen minutes, but he can’t do it in here since most of the information is classified. Go sit in the car and talk.” She said, waving her hand in what appeared to be a dismissive gesture. But Barry knew it was her telling him to hurry before the robber got away, he had fifteen minutes. 

“Right, yeah, good. I’m going to sit in our car and make sure everything is okay.” Barry nodded, already leaving before anyone in the group could react. 

“Is Dad going to be a superhero now?” Henry asked, tilting his head. 

“Yes.” Kara answered simply. 

“So… How did you two meet?” Blaine asked, gesturing towards the door where Barry had just left from. 

“Well, I guess it all started when he saved me.” Kara said, trying to tell the truth without giving away their secret identities. “See, I almost fell off a really high balcony. But I guess he was just in the right place at the right time, because he caught me before I could go plummeting. He’d actually been lost, he didn’t mean to end up in my hometown, but he did. So, as a thank you, I helped him find his way back home. I remember looking at him before he left, and thinking to myself ‘wow, he is really something else’. It’s funny, he ended up there by mistake and met me out of pure coincidence, now we’re married with a kid.” Kara told them; her last few words were said in a slightly amused tone. 

“I don’t believe that.” Blaine said simply, Kara looked at him with a confused expression and tilted her head. 

“What?” She asked, it was mostly the truth, so what wasn’t believable? 

“I don’t believe in coincidences; I think it was fate. You two were supposed to meet. I haven’t known you for any more than an hour, but I think you make him better. Just like Kurt and me. I like to believe that everything bad that’s ever happened to me was necessary, because if it didn’t, I never would have met the love of my life.” Blaine said, he and Kurt looked at each other lovingly.

“… Maybe. I’ve never believed that there was some trail we are supposed to follow, but with everything I’ve seen, maybe it’s not so farfetched.” She laughed. Her super hearing picked up the sound of the door opening. She looked over, expecting Barry to come through. But she seen a familiar face from her Earth. 

She held Henry in her arms and stood up abruptly. “Adam?” She asked, looking at him. Her voice was too quiet for him to hear from that distance, but he seen her and smiled. 

“Who’s Adam? That’s Ryder, we- I mean- I was in the New Directions with him.” Blaine said, looking at the other man who had started approaching. 

“Oh, yeah, he just looks a lot like my old boss’ son.” Kara said, shaking her head and sitting back down. Doppelganger, right.

“Marley, I didn’t expect to see you here.” He smiled at her. Kara didn’t have the heart to be annoyed at him, his face was too familiar. But she couldn’t let him think she was Marley. 

“This isn’t Marley, you remember Sebastian Smythe, right?” Blaine asked, Ryder paused for a moment. 

“The guy who almost took your eye out with a slushie the year before I joined?” Ryder clarified, Blaine nodded and squeezed Kurt’s arm. 

“I heard about him, he’s like the high school villain from a cheesy 2009 FOX comedy-drama musical show.” He compared, shrugging. 

“Well… This is his wife, Kara Allen.” He said. Realization flickered in Ryder’s eyes. 

“I thought he was gay. He had a thing for Blaine.” He said bluntly, it made Kara let out a soft snort. Everyone seemed to have the same opinion of Barry. 

“Pansexual, actually.” Kara added, she turned her attention to her son, who’d planted both feet on her thighs and stood up to lean forward across the table to try and reach the chips and dip in the middle. One of the Warblers let out a quiet chuckle and pushed it over to the boy, who pulled it closer and sat back down and started nibbling on a chip contently. Kara grabbed a napkin and placed it on Henry’s lap. 

“Oh, and that’s their son.” Kurt added, pointing to the child. 

“Wow, you seriously look like Marley. Are you sure you weren’t adopted, or maybe had a twin who was adopted?” Ryder said suspiciously. Kara couldn’t help but laugh in response. 

“Well, I am adopted. But I was adopted at thirteen, so I’m sure I don’t have a twin sister.” Kara said, crossing her arms. 

“Still, maybe you should have a conversation with your parents.” He said, Kara simply shook her head with a smile. Half of her wanted to meet this Marley girl, but the other half knew that meeting her doppelganger was a terrible idea.

Kara heard the door open again, she turned her head and seen Barry walking through. His hair was slightly disheveled. She maneuvered Henry off her lap and into the chair as she got up. He was too distracted by chips to run away this time. 

Barry met her halfway and she wordlessly started to fiddle with his hair. It was probably a bit confusing since he’d rip your hand off if you tried to touch his perfectly sculpted hair in high school, but Barry let her do what she wanted without protest aside from a quiet groan. 

When she was finished, Barry put an arm around her waist, and they walked back over to their little group. 

“You leave for five seconds, and he’s out like a light.” Kurt said, looking at the boy who was leaned back in the chair with his eyes shut and crumbs on his face. 

“I guess that means we should start heading home.” Barry said, looking at the watch on his wrist, he’d gotten it from Joe the night he told him he was going to propose to Kara. It read 8:03, Henry was only five, so his bedtime was a lot earlier than anyone would like. “A parent’s job is never done.” Kara hummed, picking up the boy after discarding the napkin on to the table next to the half empty basket of chips. 

“I’ll see you guys at Nationals tomorrow, where the Warblers will be taking first place.” Barry said with a playful smirk. There was a soft ‘whoop’ from another veteran Warbler at another table who seemed to have overheard the conversation. 

“If you guys are interested, we can get the classes a free private tour at S.T.A.R Labs Museum sometime. It’s the least I can do.” He offered, Kurt and Blaine exchanged glances and Thad nodded. 

“You can do that?” Kurt finally asked after a beat of silence. 

“Of course, I’ve got a personal connection with Dalton and even McKinley. It’s no problem, it’s my building after all.” Barry chuckled, Kara placed a hand on his arm, signaling that it was time to leave. “Just call the place and tell the receptionist the school names and to connect you to Barry Allen’s personal line, if you want to take me up on that offer.” He said, giving them a small wave before turning away and leaving the building without looking back. 

He and Kara walked back to the car; Kara put Henry into his car seat without waking him up. They got into the car and Barry started driving towards their home. 

“Was that as bad as you thought it would be?” Kara asked. 

“Yes. They look at me like a freak.” He deadpanned. He still felt like he was shaking, and he hadn’t even spoken to everyone yet. Tomorrow was going to be hell, he’d have to interact with them again.

“Barry, clearly they aren’t mad at you anymore, or at the very least they aren’t acting like they want to hang you upside down by your toes and beat you with a stick. Maybe they haven’t forgiven you, but it’s all in the past. Just… Look forward to tomorrow. You get to see the next generation of Warblers.” Kara told him confidently. She had always been the most confident of the two of them, at least in situations like this. 

When they finally arrived home, they took Henry to his room and Kara got them both a glass of wine. They sat on the couch with a sigh. 

They were exhausted, at least mentally. 

Barry took a sip of his wine. “So what are we going to do with Henry tomorrow? We can’t bring him to Nationals, there’s no way he’ll sit still.” He asked, looking over at Kara.

“Well, it’s Saturday, so I’m sure we can find someone to babysit him for a few hours. If no one on Earth-1 can do it, I’m sure my parents or Alex wouldn’t mind doing it.” Kara responded, putting her wine down on to the coffee table, she hadn’t taken a drink yet. 

“Barry, I have something to tell you…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. Before she could say anything else, Barry’s phone started going off. 

“Oh, it’s Thad. Why is he calling? Let me take this, then you can tell me, okay?” He asked, holding up his phone to show her the unknown number. 

“Go ahead, it isn’t a big deal anyway.” Kara said dismissively, watching Barry leave the room. This wasn’t exactly something you could just say out of nowhere, so she simply sighed and decided to put it off a little longer. 

When Barry left the room, he leaned against the hallway wall and pressed the green button on the screen before putting the phone against his face. 

“Hello?” He asked, slightly annoyed since they had only just left. 

“I have amazing news!” Thad said excitedly, it made Barry sigh. ‘Amazing news’ normally meant that Thad was going to drag everyone into some sort of trouble.

“And what kind of news would that be?” Barry asked, if only to humor the other man. 

“I just got a call; The band they hired to play during the intermission quit!” He said brightly, Barry furrowed his brow. 

“Okay, and? Why are you telling me this?” He asked, putting his free hand into his pocket. 

“Because we are going to take that spot, the alumni of Dalton and McKinley. One final showdown, it’s going to be great.” He said proudly. 

“Well, good luck. I’m sure you’ll win.” Barry said with a small nod, though Thad couldn’t see it. 

“I called because we all want you to lead it.” Thad said confidently, Barry choked on air. 

“What? No! I haven’t sung professionally since I went to Dalton, there’s no way.” He responded, rapidly shaking his head. 

“C’mon Seb, you were so good!” Thad said in an almost begging tone. 

“Look, I left that part of my life behind a long time ago. I don’t want to go around opening old wounds. Besides, what if I go full Sebastian?” Barry exclaimed. He didn’t want to fall back into any old habits, he worked hard to forget and he didn’t want to lose that all at once. 

“That’s the thing, we need Sebastian. He’s confident and in control, we’re all rusty and we need someone like him. Not to mention, you could be at peace knowing that you will beat Kurt and Blaine.” Thad reasoned, and it was honestly a pretty good rebuttal. It appealed to Barry’s inner competitive side. 

“… I’ll think about it.” Barry finally sighed. 

“Great, see you tomorrow at 4PM, sharp!” Thad said before immediately hanging up. Barry shook his head before pocketing his phone and walking back into the living room. He could see Kara in the kitchen, she’d just finished washing the wine glasses and was now staring out of the window into the backyard.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Barry asked as he approached, snapping her out of her trance. 

“Oh, I was just looking at the swing set. I never noticed that it didn’t have anything for kids younger than three.” She said with a small shrug. 

“Huh, I never really noticed.” Barry said thoughtfully, getting closer.

“You’re doing it, right? Singing with your team one more time.” She questioned, looking over her shoulder at him.

“How did you-… Super hearing. Right.” He sighed, moving to follow close behind her. 

“I think you should do it. Not for them, but for you. You said you didn’t want to become Sebastian, so why not put it to the test? If you really want to make sure you’re Barry Allen, do it, and see what kind of person you become afterwards.” She said, pushing their bedroom door open. 

They walked in and started to undress, when Kara removed her shoes, she was once again shorter than Barry. She pulled her tights off of her legs, the air felt nice, they had made her legs a bit too warm. She looked over to Barry and watched him walk over to the dresser and pull out a pair of plaid pajama pants. 

“Help me with my zipper.” She said, moving her hair away from her back when he came up behind her. It loosened, and Kara unbuttoned the part attaching to her neck before letting it fall off of her body and on to the floor. 

He put his hands on her waist and his lips touched her neck, but she moved away. “Tomorrow, okay? I’m really tired right now.” She said, turning around to face him. She wasn’t feeling up to it right now, but Barry understood, tonight was tiresome, especially trying to keep track of a five year old during an adult party.

“Okay, I love you Mrs. Allen.” He said childishly. He liked to remind her of that every now and then, just to make sure she remembers what she signed up for. His words got a small smile from her. “I love you too Mr. Allen.” She responded, walking over to the dresser and pulling out one of Barry’s shirts to slip over her body. 

Barry removed his own clothes before pulling his pajama pants on. They both climbed into their respective spots on the bed, it didn’t take long for Kara to scoot closer and curl up against his chest. Barry grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over them, then put an arm around Kara and burying his face into her hair. He got to experience this every day, but the strong feeling of contentedness never ceased to amaze him. 

Kara fell asleep quickly, and Barry soon followed.

A loud creaking sound startled both of them awake, a downside of being a superhero is that you get triggered by the smallest noise. 

Kara was the first to move, sitting up abruptly. Barry followed her, but his motion was slightly slower. 

They both quickly calmed when they seen Henry in the doorway, a crumpled up blanket held against his chest by one hand, while the other was still attached to the doorknob. 

“What are you doing out of bed honey?” Kara asked softly, Barry glanced at the clock and seen that the clock read 3:56AM. 

“There’s something in my closet.” The boy said quietly, Kara listened to the silence around them for a moment, listening for a heartbeat just in case he was telling the truth, but she couldn’t find one. 

“Do you want to sleep with us?” Barry asked with a small sigh, neither of them wanted to get up and try to get him to go back to sleep in his own room. They both knew that he was a bit too old for this, but neither cared at this moment. “I promise, there isn’t anything in our closet.” Barry swore. He watched his son mull over his words for a second before nodding and hurrying over to their bed. 

Kara crawled over to the edge of the bed and helped him into it, pulling him on to her lap and moving back to her spot. Henry rolled over and situated himself directly between his parents, forcing them apart as he wiggled into position. It made Kara and Barry both let out a small breathy laugh.

They settled back into the bed, quickly slipping back to sleep with their newest edition between them. 

\---

The next day came quicker than Barry would’ve preferred, he’d woken up and Kara had been in the kitchen making two tall stacks of pancakes. Henry was at the table, syrup covering most of the bottom half of his face as he stuffed more than he could probably chew into his mouth. He didn’t have any sort of super metabolism, but he could sure as hell put food away. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” He asked, walking over and picking up one of the plates. 

“Only when you want something.” She commented, but they both knew that was a lie. He said it regularly, but he did sometimes say it before asking for something.

“Who is going to drop off Henry? Me or you?” He asked, grabbing the bottle of syrup and adding a generous amount to his pancakes, the amount polished off the bottle. 

“I’ll do it, it will only take a few minutes. I’ll be in and out.” She hummed, walking over to a cabinet and opening it. It revealed six more bottles of syrup, Kara made a mental note to make sure to pick up some more pretty soon. When she turned around, Barry was almost done with his stack. 

“Chew your food before you swallow.” She commented, before topping off her own pancakes and starting to eat them at a much slower pace than Barry. Kara turned her attention to Henry. 

“Henry, you’re going to spend the night at Aunt Alex’s. Is that okay?” She asked, leaning against the counter. The child looked at her and nodded vigorously, quickly swallowing his food and giving her a bright smile. 

“Good, we’ll give you a bath and bring you over.” She said with a small nod before looking back at Barry. 

“I went to Earth-38 before you two woke up, Alex was always an early riser, so she was awake when I got there. I asked if she could take Henry for the day, and I’ll come back tomorrow for him. There haven’t been any issues with aliens lately, so she has got plenty of free time on her hands.” She explained, Barry had already finished his pancakes, so she hurried to finish hers. When she was done, she held the plate out for him. “I cooked; you clean.” She said cheekily, it made Barry roll his eyes. 

He was finished in a flash, it always disappointed her slightly because she couldn’t watch him suffer. 

“I’m clean!” Their son shouted, climbing down from his chair. Barry really had done everything, he’d cleaned the entire kitchen, even her hands were wiped of any possible syrup specks. “Sometimes I hate how perfect you are.” She mumbled, crossing her arms.

“You already married me, and we agreed no take backs!” He teased, forcing her to roll her eyes. 

“Whatever, I’m going to pack Henry a bag.” She turned, but there was a blur of orange lightning and he was standing in front of her holding Henry’s spare backpack. 

“Done.” He said with a smile, forcing a groan from Kara. He liked to mess with her in the morning, it was bothersome, but she was never actually mad because of it. 

“Okay, I’ll take Henry. You go to work; I’ll head to my job when I get back. Make sure the CCPD knows you’re working a half day. I already let CCPN know, I’ve just got to finish my most recent article, and I’ll be back here.” She said in a slightly reprimanding tone, she knew he was going to be late getting home, so she always did her best to remind him to do things. 

Barry held his hands up in surrender, not wanting to anger her with any backtalk. She didn’t kid when it came to his tardiness for important events. “I’ll be home on time, okay? I promise.” He said confidently, while crossing his fingers behind his back. Luckily, Kara had put on her glasses, so she couldn’t see him doing it. But Barry couldn’t help but feel she still knew; he could tell because she’d rolled her eyes when he said it. 

Barry walked over and put the bag down on to the kitchen table, then walked over to one of the cabinets. He pushed past the cereal boxes until he got to the back, he pushed a hand against the wall and a panel opened. He pulled out a small object, and a few seconds later the panel closed. 

He handed the item to Kara, it was an Interdimensional Extrapolator. 

“Henry!” She called, pressing a button, watching the breach open. The vortex was smaller than the ones Cisco could create, but it was big enough to get them both through. 

Before either of them could react, which was saying a lot, Henry had run into the breach. Kara wordlessly hurried after him, grabbing the backpack. Almost as soon as she walked through, the breach closed behind her. 

Barry shook his head and went back to their room to get ready. He glanced over to the clock and realized he had nine minutes to get to work. He groaned and used his speed to hurry through his morning routine. Shower, teeth brushing, clothes, matching socks, equipment, keys, lock the front door. 

He looked down at his watch, if he used his speed, he’d only be about four minutes late… Wait, make that five minutes. The man sighed before he started to run, he had to go at a pace that would keep him from catching on fire. 

Barry skidded to a halt in the alley behind his work and walked out of it, and he was soon through the doors of the CCPD. There were cops bustling around him, and he sighed when he seen a familiar face. 

“Joe!” He called, approaching his foster father. The man looked up from the file he was reading, and smiled at Barry. 

“Hey Barry, you’re only-“ Joe paused and looked at the clock. “- six minutes late today!” The man snickered; Barry sighed in response. 

“Yeah, Henry woke us up last night, so neither Kara nor I a perfect nights sleep. I was a bit late getting up.” He let out a small groan at his own words. 

“So you’re late to work, and you’re leaving work early?” Joe said in an amused tone.

Barry looked at him with a confused expression. “How did you know? I haven’t told anyone yet.” He said, crossing his arms. 

“Your wife called ahead early this morning, you’re lucky she did. She got Singh to agree to let you out early, she knew that if you tried he’d probably shoot you down. Kara always seems to be a step or two ahead of you, you’re lucky for that.” Joe said with a small smirk as he looked back at the file. 

“Of course she did. You know, I’m pretty sure she lacks faith in me.” Barry huffed, looking away. 

“Or maybe she just wants to make sure you don’t try to chicken out on whatever important thing you guys have to do.” Joe said, before turning around and walking back to his desk. Barry could understand her train of thought, if he really didn’t want to go, he could just ‘forget’ to tell the captain and not be able to leave. He wasn’t sure if he was annoyed that she didn’t let him do that, or proud she didn’t let him do that. 

Either way, she wasn’t letting him wiggle his way out of this. She probably wanted him to try and make amends with everyone again, that was his Kara. 

He sighed and walked up to his lab, sitting down and beginning to work on a case. He had almost finished it the day before, so he finished examining DNA samples and was able to pinpoint who it belonged to. Now he had to leave it up to the detectives to find surefire evidence that the woman the DNA belonged to did it. 

He started working on another case, it was a quiet day, which was a relief. He could just work on cases, like any normal CSI would. 

He prayed he didn’t just jinx himself. 

Much to his surprise, the clock struck 2:45, and nothing interesting had happened. He used his speed to quickly pack up his things. He needed to make it home, or Kara would have his head on a stick, this seemed to be really important to her even though it wasn’t even her school. Barry made sure to clock out and leave quickly, he looked at his watch. Shit 2:58, if he wasn’t back by 3, he was as good as dead. 

At this point, he didn’t care if his clothes caught on fire or if his shoes wore out. He could by new clothes, or new shoes, but he couldn’t buy a new head. 

He skidded to a halt at their front door and fumbled for his keys, pressing them into the lock and twisting, only to realize the door had already been unlocked. He burst into the house, stepping over the threshold a fraction of a second before their wall clock started clanging. 

He was suddenly engulfed in compressed air and powder as a fire extinguisher started spraying him from his left. 

“You were on fire.” Kara commented before putting the fire extinguisher down. It took Barry a moment to notice that his button up was almost completely singed off on his left side. 

“Time to get ready, lets go.” Kara said, she reached out and started tugging him towards the bedroom. He followed close behind her. 

“I’ve already got my stuff in the bathroom; you change out here.” She said, not letting him get a word in before she walked into the bathroom. It was normal for them to both change in their room, but she only did it in the bathroom when she was dressing to impress, if only to use his initial reaction as an example of how others would react. 

He decided to be just as formal as yesterday. He put on his grey suit with silver trim, a black button up shirt under it. He wore a silver bowtie around his neck that matched the silver trim on his suit. He pulled a shoebox out from under the bed, they had white dress shoes inside that shined like new, but that was probably because they were new, he’d never had a reason to wear them. 

Barry had pretty much agreed to perform with his old classmates, so he might as well look like he’d come from a family that could afford to send him to Dalton. He walked over to Kara’s vanity mirror and sat down in the chair, he picked up the comb that was laying on the edge of it and started moving it through his hair. Normally, he’d run his fingers through it, and he’d be fine, but he didn’t need to look ‘fine’ today, he had to look better. He picked up a bottle of hairspray and started to spray his hair until it had enough volume. When he went back to the full-length mirror and looked at himself, he cringed. 

He looked so much like Sebastian; it was almost physically painful. The only other time Barry tried to look this nice was on his wedding day, so he tried to think of his wedding day instead of high school. He inhaled deeply and heard the bathroom door open, he turned to look at her. They both paused when their eyes landed on each other. 

“Wow.” They both seemed to breathe out at the same time. 

Kara had her hair up in a bun, no strands were out of place so she must have straightened it. Her dress had long sleeves and the neckline was low enough to reveal her clavicle and was only a few inches from revealing her shoulders, it stopped slightly above her knees and was form fitting around the top and lose from her waist down. The coloring is what made it stand out, it was completely white with gold sequence all over it. Her heels were golden and put her at the same height as him, she wore light colored makeup to match the aesthetic to her dress. A silver heart shaped locket hung loosely around her neck, ‘B&K’ was engraved on it. 

“I haven’t seen you this primped up in… Jesus, I don’t know. But I’m impressed.” Kara commented, walking towards him. 

“And I’m sure everyone will be jealous that I’ve got the most beautiful girl in the building.” Barry hummed, taking a few steps forward and putting both hands on her waist, so she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned forward and pressed a warm kiss to her lips, the familiar electricity echoed through both of their bodies. 

Kara pulled away with half lidded eyes. “That never gets old.” She hummed, pulling away and taking a few steps back. 

“No, it doesn’t.” He chuckled. 

Kara turned away and walked over to her vanity desk and opened a jewelry box. She pulled out two rings, one had a lightning bolt on it and the other had Kara’s family crest. She tossed the lightning bolt to Barry, who easily caught it. 

“Just in case.” She commented, slipping the silver ring on to her left index finger, while Barry put the golden ring on his. The rings held both of their suits, if they weren’t able to get to the ones nearby. 

“Are you ready to leave?” Kara asked, glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 3:25, they still had to get there and find seats and talk to everyone. 

“Yeah, lets get going.” He said, walking over to the door, pushing it open and gesturing towards it. “Ladies first.” He hummed, looking at her expectantly, but she stood there with crossed arms. 

“Go ahead then.” She said, gesturing to the door, her expression was completely serious until she started getting those little wrinkles next to her eyes before she started to laugh. Barry joined in and left the room, she was trailing close behind. 

They once again stood beside the car, but Kara stopped before she opened the door. “You sure you’re ready, right?” She asked, raising a brow. 

“Positive.” Barry confirmed, but he couldn’t help but still be a bit unsure. Kara gave him a small reassuring smile before opening the door and ducking into the car, a small smile ghosted across Barry’s lips and he shook his head before opening his own door and sitting in the drivers seat. 

The drive there was mostly silent, the occasional ‘are you okay’ came from Kara. She seemed more stressed than he did at this point. It didn’t take them long to pull into the parking lot, Barry was quick to notice what looked to be three security guards standing between a nice white Mercedes-Benz Maybach Exelero and a red Aston Martin Vulcan. They were very noticeable considering no one in Central owned anything close to that expensive. At least no one they knew.

It made their grey 2015 Subaru Outback look like a piece of junk, which kind of sucked because they splurged for the family sized car right after Henry was born and sold their black 2010 Chevrolet Impala that Kara really liked.

They both slowly got out of the car and closed the door behind them, their movements caught the eyes of the security guards, who stared them down as they approached the building. 

They walked inside and Barry pulled his wallet from his back pocket, walking up to the ticket booth and buying two. When they got into the main part of the lobby, they seen something they didn’t quite expect. 

The New Directions and Warblers, they were mingling with each other. They were supposed to be mortal enemies, even Kara knew that. But these kids were getting along so well, Barry had never been that polite to any other team while he was a Warbler, not even while pretending to be nice. 

“Barry!” A voice called; Barry’s head snapped in that direction. It was Thad, that excited grin plastered on his face. 

“What do you think? How do they look?” He asked as he walked up, gesturing to the group of teens. His voice made all the new Warblers stop and turn their heads towards them, which made the New Directions quiet down too. 

“Well…” Barry’s eyes flicked from person to person, each getting a quick look over. “They don’t look terrible, if that’s what you’re asking.” He said with a shrug. They appeared to be presentable, living up to the standards of Dalton’s Warblers. 

“Wait until you hear them sing.” Thad said proudly. 

“Do it now. You said you wanted me to give them a pep talk, right? I’ll only do it if I think they can win.” He said, looking the kids over again. Thad hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. 

“Okay, follow me. Kids! Let’s go to the dressing room.” He called out to the group of teens, who quickly separated from the other kids, following Thad closely. Some of the more unsure kids clearly hesitated but followed. 

“Find our seats? I’ll be back soon.” Barry said with a soft smile, leaning over and kissing Kara’s cheek. 

“Don’t just insult them, give them constructive criticism. That’s what Barry Allen would do.” She warned, Barry nodded response, earning his own kiss on the cheek from her. 

“Hey Kara!” Blaine called, walking through the doors to the main area. Kara smiled and walked over, Barry looked away and followed Thad. 

Barry followed Thad and the group to a back room that looked similar to a choir room, it must be where the opera group practices before a show. He shut the door behind him as he watched the kids line up. 

“Okay, let’s show Sebastian what you guys can do. He was Captain of the Warblers, so don’t disappoint!” Thad told them, Barry didn’t correct the man on his name. He figured that the name ‘Sebastian’ was much more intimidating than ‘Barry’. There was a few quiet whispers, he only really heard the word ‘Captain’ and ‘Warblers’. 

One of the boys stepped in front of the others. “This is one of the songs we use to prepare.” He said, clearing his throat. The boy was clearly the lead, Barry walked over to the wall and leaned his back against it, watching them with an indifferent expression. Thad seemed a bit nervous at Barry’s disposition. 

“Let it go,  
Let it roll right off your shoulder,  
Don’t you know,  
The hardest part is over?  
Let it-“ 

They started, it was an acapella, so it didn’t require any music. Barry held up his hand, making them go quiet. They wanted to impress him, but Barry had heard something intriguing while listening. It was quiet, but there. 

“You.” He pointed to one of the younger members, probably a freshman. “Here.” He pointed to where the lead was standing, then made contact with the lead. “You. There.” He pointed to the background group. The older of the two looked annoyed, but a small glare made him comply, the younger one hesitantly took his spot. 

“Light ‘em Up. Fall Out Boy. Go.” Barry said sharply, he knew the song was familiar to them when everyone shifted excitedly. The boy he put as the lead still seemed hesitant. “Did I stutter?” He asked in a slightly annoyed tone. 

“He hasn’t led a song yet, give him a break Bas.” Thad complained, but Barry shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, if you hesitate for even a second, you’ll drag your entire team down.” He replied sharply. “Now, go.” He pointed at the group. 

The group picked it up quickly, they started to dance while the freshman started to loosen up and they began the background vocals.

“Be careful makin’ wishes in the dark (dark),  
Can’t be sure when they’ve hit their mark (mark),  
And besides in the mean (mean) time,  
I’m just dreaming of tearing you apart.” 

The boy began, slowly getting more into the song rather than the people watching him. Barry could feel Thad glace over at him, but he just kept his eyes on the boy. 

“I’m in the (de)details with the devil,  
So now the world can never get me on my level,  
I just gotta get you out the cage,  
I’m a young lovers rage,  
Gonna need a spark to ignite.” 

The group continued; the impromptu song didn’t keep them from easily matching each other’s dances. The group quieted and let their lead take the next line alone, but he didn’t even seem to notice the silence aside from the still present background vocals. 

“My songs know what you did in the dark!” 

His voice rang out impressively as he held the last steady note, a smirk tugged at the corner of Barry’s lips. He listened as the group picked back up again.

“So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
I’m on fire!  
So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
I’m on fire!” 

The dancing had picked up as the background vocals grew louder, the nervous kid had seemed to disappear as he joined their dancing, clearly enjoying what he was doing. 

“In the dark (dark)!” 

He sang, leaning forward and clapping his hands a few times. 

“ All the writers keep writing what they write,  
Somewhere another pretty vein just dies,  
I’ve got the scars from tomorrow,  
And I wish you could see,  
That you’re the antidote to everything,  
Except for me.”

“A constellation of tears on your lashes,  
Burn everything you love then burn the ashes,  
In the end,  
Everything collides,  
My childhood spat back out the monsters that you see.”

The voices in the back lowered again to let the chorus stand out again. 

“My songs know what you did in the dark!” 

“So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
I’m on fire!  
So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
I’m on fire!”

The background vocals picked up again.

“In the dark (dark)!  
In the dark (dark)!” 

The confidence in this kid had clearly started to grow in comparison to when Barry had shown up. A diamond in the rough, he could spot them anywhere.

“My songs know what you did in the dark!  
(My songs know what you did in the dark!)”

“So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
I’m on fire!  
So light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up,  
Light ‘em up up up  
I’m on fire!” 

“In the dark (dark)!  
In the dark (dark)!”

The vocals picked back up again, the dancers shifted back into the places where they started before the vocals once again quieted until the room was silent. The freshman’s hair was now disheveled, and he was breathing heavily. 

“Everyone, and I mean it; everyone in this room has the potential to be great.” Barry said, walking forward and giving the boy a pat on his shoulder before shoving him back towards the group. 

“Warblers are proud, smart, and talented. As long as you remember this when you’re out there-“ Barry raised his hand and pointed towards the closed door. “- you can’t be beaten. Not by anyone.” He said before taking a few more steps towards the group. 

“If a nameless background vocalist can do that, then what does that mean for you?” He questioned, though it was rhetorical. 

“You guys are good, I’ll admit that. I think you’ve got a real shot, but whether or not you take advantage of your abilities is up to you. Just remember, when you’re up there, you aren’t just a group of people singing. You are an experience, something with the same mind and soul. Accept that, and you can do anything.” Barry said, making eye contact with each one of the Warblers. 

“Shouldn’t you start getting ready? You’ve got a trophy to win, right?” He asked with a raised brow, that made the group start speaking among themselves. Barry gave a dismissive wave, then walked over to the door, pushing it open and walking out. 

“Wait, Barry!” Thad called, following him outside. 

“Why did you do that? Replace the lead, I mean.” Thad asked as he approached, following closely on Barry’s heels. Barry didn’t stop until they were out of hearing distance from the room. When he stopped he leaned against the wall, slumping forward slightly. 

“I don’t know, there’s just something about the kid. I can’t quite place what it is, but there’s something in his eyes that reminds me of myself.” He said with a shrug, Thad quickly shook his head at the notion. 

“No way, Carter is nothing like you.” He argued, so Carter was the kids name? Barry would keep that in mind. 

“I know; he’s better.” Barry confirmed with a small nod. “He just needs some encouragement, he’s a freshman and part of the Warblers, there’s something special there.” Barry told him, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I say, give the kid a shot at some point. If that was his first time leading, who knows? He might be better than me with some practice.” Barry said with a small smirk. Thad put his hand on his chest. “I’m sorry, did I hear that correctly? Did Sebastian Smythe just say someone might be better than him?” He teased, making Barry roll his eyes. 

“The show should be starting soon, get your kids ready.” He said, ignoring the question. Barry quickly made his way to the theatre, it took him a few seconds but he managed to spot Kara sitting in a seat close to the front. She was talking to someone next to her, when Barry got closer, he realized that it was Blaine. 

“Hey.” He said with a smile, sliding into the empty seat next to her. Kara looked over to him, cutting the conversation short. 

“Did you have fun?” She asked, leaning against him a bit. 

“I think I did a pretty good job.” Barry said with a smirk. 

“I’d pay money to see Sebastian Smythe try to inspire someone.” The voice of Kurt came as he leaned over to see past Blaine and make eye contact with Barry. 

“That isn’t my name.” Barry complained, Kara put a comforting hand on his arm. Right, it would all be over after tonight. He might not have to see any of them ever again. 

“Hi Kara.” Another interruption came as someone sat in a seat behind them. Kara turned and seen the mixed boy that had spoken to her the night before and didn’t believe she wasn’t the Marley girl everyone thought she was. 

“Hi… You.” Kara had no idea what his name was, so she gave him an awkward wave. 

“Jake.” He informed, Kara nodded and turned back around. They probably would’ve continued the conversation if the lights in the room hadn’t dimmed and a group of students walked on stage.

The show finally began, and Barry was impressed by most of them. It made sense considering they made it to Nationals.

After the twenty third group finished, it was time for the New Directions to go on stage. They sang three songs. Crossfire, Thunder, and Best Day of My Life. They were pretty good, Barry couldn’t lie, they’re definitely going to get into the top ten for sure. 

“Bas.” Came a voice in his ear, he jumped and his head snapped to the left. Wes, the Captain before him, was standing there. “It’s time.” He said, it would probably sound ominous to anyone else, but he knew that it was almost time for them to go on stage. So Barry got up and followed Wes, he hadn’t actually been able to talk to him, but the other didn’t seem to mind. 

Barry was met by a lot of familiar faces when he made it to the group that was waiting in a room backstage. A light chorus of ‘Bas, Bastian, Seb, Sebby!’ came from the group. Barry decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to correct them all. 

“So, what song are we going for?” He asked, turning his attention to Wes. He was also a Captain, so he was probably in charge. 

“How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox 20, you know it, right?” Wes asked, Barry nodded with a smirk. “Good choice.” He responded, Barry actually really liked that song, he had it on a few of his music playlist. 

He heard someone announce through a microphone that it was almost time for the intermission and the entertainment would be a competition between two veteran groups. Dalton Academy Warblers, and McKinley High School’s New Directions. One song each, Dalton was first. 

Barry couldn’t believe it; he was genuinely nervous. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked over and seen Thad. “Bring out your inner Sebastian, we need him.” He said calmly, a lot calmer than Barry was at least. 

Barry took a deep breath; something was suddenly thrust into his hands. 

A Dalton uniform? He noticed that everyone was changing into their own, so Barry went with the flow. He quickly changed, when he was finished, he noticed Trent approach. 

Barry didn’t move when Trent used a comb and some fruity smelling hair gel to tuck any stray strands away, despite Barry already styling it before he left home. 

Barry walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner, he had something akin to a panic attack when he seen himself. He stepped away and felt his chest starting to tighten his breathing became ragged and quickened. Only Wes seemed to notice. He slowly walked over and put a hand on Barry’s back, leading him away from the mirror and to the opposite corner of the room. 

“Calm down…” He said, grabbing both of Barry’s shoulders, making eye contact. 

“Look, I wasn’t around to see everything you did. But I heard about, it was terrible.” He said, that only managed to make Barry feel worse. “But, I also heard about who you are now. Your name is Barry Allen. You’re a husband, and a father, you work for the police to help catch criminals. Sebastian might not have been a good person, but Barry Allen is.” Wes said, attempting to be as calm as possible. 

“I heard what Thad said. He’s wrong, we don’t need Sebastian, not for this song. This song is about life, and how it changes, and how we change. You know better than anyone what that’s like. We don’t need Sebastian Smythe, we need Barry Allen.” He said in an encouraging tone. 

Barry didn’t know why, but Wes’ mini-speech seemed to calm him down. “Maybe you should become a life coach.” He said with a breathy laugh. Wes was right, Barry didn’t need to become Sebastian for this, all he needed to be was Barry Allen. Wes threw an arm around Barry’s shoulders and started leading him back to the group. 

When Wes let go of him, Barry loudly cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention. 

“We are going up against the New Directions, last time I lead the Warblers against them, we lost. I don’t want that to happen again.” He said, almost everyone was expecting him to find a way to cheat last minute. But they were surprised at what he said next. 

“But they were better than us, so they deserved it. Now, we just have to be better than them. But more than anything, let’s just have fun. We haven’t sung together in years, so lets just stay loose and enjoy it, okay?” He asked, letting out a soft exhale. After a moment, Trent came up and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I like that idea, having fun. Singing for fun instead of being competitive about it, what do you guys think?” Trent asked, looking at the others. Wes was the first to speak up. 

“I like it.” Wes stated. After a moment, everyone voiced their agreement, including an originally hesitant Thad. 

After a few more minutes, someone came and told them it was time to go on stage. 

“You ready, Barry?” Wes asked, Barry took in a deep breath before nodding. 

They all walked on to the stage and stood in two lines, the red curtain slowly began to rise up and the music started to play. Wes took a step forward. 

“Hello?  
Hello?  
Hello?” 

He asked, before taking a step back. Barry walked forward at a quick pace when the music started to speed up. 

“Waking up at the start of the end of the world,  
But it’s feeling just like any other morning before,  
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it’s gone.” 

Barry began at a quick pace, a few of the Warblers came to dance beside him and he quickly mimicked their moves, he remembered this choreography.

“The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour and I,  
Started staring at the passengers waving goodbye,  
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?” 

Barry looked into the crowd as they started to clap, some standing up in excitement. 

“But I believe the world is burning to the ground,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna find out.”

He sang out, preparing for the chorus, his dance moves still fluid next to the others.  
“Let’s see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we go!”

His eyes searched the crowd, looking for any sign of Kara. But he couldn’t see her, or any of the New Directions for that matter. He didn’t let that deter him, she could take care of herself, she was Supergirl for crying out loud. He was a bit upset that she’d be missing him sing though. 

“Well I believe it all is coming to an end,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna pretend.”

“Let’s see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we go!” 

Barry was spinning when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a small shine. He managed to steal a small glance to his right and caught sight of Kara standing with the New Directions, she was wearing something different and smiling at him. He narrowly avoided being distracted by her. He really wanted to win this. 

“I think it turned ten o’clock,  
But I don’t really know,  
And I can’t remember caring for an hour or so,  
Started crying and I couldn’t stop myself,  
I started running but there’s no where to run to.” 

He continued, walking forwards to the edge of the stage. Despite their change in age, there were backflips and quick dance moves being done behind him that drove the crowd crazy. 

“I sat down on the street,  
Took a look at myself,  
Said where you going man,  
You know the world’s headed for hell,  
Say your goodbyes,  
If you’ve got someone to say goodbye to.” 

Barry took a moment to breathe it all in, the crowd, the stage lights, the music, the voices backing up his own. For a moment, he forgot why he’d given this up, why he didn’t chase after being a singer or even going to a preforming arts school. He couldn’t remember, it was never too late for a career change, right?

“Well I believe the world is burning to the ground,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna find out.”

“Let’s see how far we’ve come (right now),  
Let’s see how far we go!” 

He twisted around one of the other Warblers, wrapping an arm around the others and using it to swing himself towards the other side of the stage. He slowly descended the stage and started walking up the walkway between each set of seats. There were three in total, and he was going down the first one now. 

“Well I believe it all is coming to an end,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna pretend.” 

“Lets see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we go!” 

He turned and started walking down the second walkway, using his dazzling smile to charm the girls he walked past. It was the smile that helped Kara fall for him. He stopped in front of a woman who was pretty close to his age and used his free hand to grab hers. 

“It’s gone gone,  
Baby it’s all gone,  
There’s no one in the corner,  
And there’s no one at home.  
It was cool cool,  
It was just all cool,  
Now it’s over for me and it’s over for you.” 

He moved away and continued his walk, then stopped in front of another woman and did the same for the next line. He could hear Wes backing up his words. 

“It’s gone gone,  
Baby it’s all gone,  
There’s no one in the corner,  
And there’s no one at home.  
It was cool cool,  
It was just all cool,  
Now it’s over for me and it’s over for you.” 

He held the note before moving away from the woman, over to the next and final walkway.

“Well I believe the world is burning to the ground,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna find out.”

He finished going down the walkway, winking at a few people before he climbed the stage and stood back with the group, smoothing gliding back into the dance. 

“Let’s see how far we’ve come (ah yeah)  
Let’s see how far we go!” 

He stepped back and watched a few of the other Warblers position themselves in a way he hadn’t seen in a while. Could he still even do this? He didn’t know, but he could try.

“Well I believe it all is coming to an end,  
Oh well,  
I guess we’re gonna pretend.” 

He used the kneeling Warblers folded hands as un unsteady staircase until two of them were standing upright with their hands locket together and Barry standing on them, a solid five feet off the ground.

“Let’s see how far we’ve come (ah yeah),  
Let’s see how far we go!”

Barry tensed up his legs in preparation for the movement. 

“Let’s see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we go,  
Let’s see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we go,  
Let’s see how far we’ve come,  
Let’s see how far we’ve come.”

A small movement of Barry’s wrist made them lower him slightly before aggressively forcing him up into the air. He did a backflip and landed almost perfectly before he let out the last line and held the note.

“Let’s see how far we’ve come!” 

There was a massive amount of applause at Barry’s move, enough to surprise even himself. He was honestly just really glad he didn’t just fall over and hit himself in the head. He got a few strong pats on the back as he was led off stage with his friends, and towards Kara. 

Barry noticed Kara had changed. All the New Directions standing behind her were either in black suits with white ties or knee length black dresses. Kara and Blaine were both dressed differently, he was taken aback by the sight of Kara wearing an almost exact replica of the black dress she’d worn when they’d been trapped in their own heads by Music Meister, except there was a thigh high slit that allowed her to move more. She wasn’t wearing the gloves either, but her makeup was almost the same aside from the eyeshadow being darker, and her hair was still curled but parted in the middle and she still had on her glasses. Blaine was wearing a suit that was lined with sequence to match Kara’s design and he wore a silver tie. 

“Kara… What are you doing?” He asked hesitantly, but he already pretty much knew the answer. 

“Their friend, Rachel, just got a call saying she was cast for a pretty big music part on Broadway, so she has to save her voice. They said no one else knew her part of the song, they wouldn’t have been able to do the song without her. But I knew the lyrics, so I looked over the paper and memorized it. I figured I could be Marley Rose for one night. It won’t kill me.” Kara said with a small shrug, Barry could tell by the look in her eyes that she wouldn’t give up on this, so he shouldn’t bother arguing. 

“She looks exactly like Marley, so if anyone asks, we can just say she dyed her hair. There’s no way they wouldn’t believe us.” A guy in a wheelchair piped up from the side. 

“Just… Be careful, okay?” Barry said with a sigh, watching the other Warblers disappear, they hadn’t stayed around to listen to the conversation. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to be doing backflips and risk breaking my neck.” She said sharply, everyone noticed her tone and Barry’s face flushed slightly as he looked away. 

“Okay, well… Good luck, you’ll need it.” He said to Kara with a cheeky smirk. She lightly smacked him on his arm and he reached over to rub the spot. “You’re so mean to me.” He whined in a childish tone, she rolled her eyes in response. 

“I’ve already got two babies, I don’t need another.” Kara scoffed, just as the New Directions were announced to go on stage. 

“Wait, two what nows?” Barry asked with wide eyes. Kara blinked a few times, realizing what she’d just said. 

“Well, will you look at that? It’s time to go on!” She said with a nervous laugh, slipping past him and on to the stage with the rest of the New Directions. Barry hurried to his seat instead of watching from backstage, he sat in his seat just as the music was starting. 

The New Directions were gathered in a perfect square, Kara and Blaine were in the back corners of it. Kara seemed calm and focused, Barry was glad she had her mind set on the performance, but still wanted answers. 

Barry realized what the song was before they even started to sing, I Lived by One Republic.

The New Directions were standing on a set of stairs, each row got their own set, so Kara and Blaine were on the same set due to their positions. 

When it got to the right part of the music, everyone in front of Blaine turned and took a step back, making way for him to walk down the steps when he needed. But during his first line, he stayed still. 

“Hope when you take that jump,  
You don’t fear the fall.” 

He began, the people in front of Kara turned and took a step back so Kara could climb down the steps when she needed to. She began to sing, her voice smooth and soothing. 

“Hope when the water rises,  
You built a wall.” 

The two looked over at each other and began to slowly descend down the stairs at the same time, Blaine took the next line.  
“Hope when the crowd screams out,  
They’re screaming your name.” 

Kara picked up right after him as they both reached the last stair at the same time. 

“Hope if everybody runs…  
You choose to stay.” 

They both stepped off of the stairs and walked over each other, completely in sync as they stood in front of each other, Blaine reached out and grabbed both of her hands as he started to sing again.

“Hope that you fall in love,  
And it hurts so bad.” 

Okay, Barry was a bit offended at that, but it was just a song. He watched Kara fluidly pick up where Blaine left off. 

“The only way you can know,  
You give it all you have.”

Barry heard the quiet clapping of the crowd around him, so he joined in, and a few other Warblers nearby joined in. They made a really good duet team.

“And I hope that you don’t suffer,  
But take the pain.” 

Blaine said, letting go of one hand and looking away from her, she did the same and they both walked forward towards the edge of the stage to look out into the crowd. 

“Hope when the moment comes…  
You’ll say;” 

Kara started the verse and let go of his hand, Blaine joined in as the New Directions finally started singing quiet backup vocals. Their song wasn’t as excitable and loud as the Warblers, but it was absolutely entrancing. If Barry didn’t know that Blaine was gay and married, he’d be jealous.

“I~,  
I did it all!” 

They both sang with perfectly matching voices, there were a few light claps, but it almost seemed rude, in a way, to interrupt them.

“I~  
I did it all!”

They sang, everyone behind them finally started to move and dance, their voices and the music getting louder and allowing the audience to clap.

“I owned every second that this world could give!  
I saw so many places,  
The things that I did!  
Yeah with every broken bone,  
I swear I lived!” 

They both sang with bright smiles, they finally broke away and each walked to the opposite side of the stage, the others still danced and made light noises, but now all the attention was back on Kara and Blaine.

“Hope that you spend your days,  
But they all add up.”

Blaine said with a smile, holding an arm out. Kara smiled and rolled her eyes playfully as she continued the song. 

“And when that sun goes down,  
Hope you raise your cup.”

They both started walking towards each other, and everyone was impressed because they were still in perfect sync. But Barry knew that was probably Kara’s doing, her senses were so enhanced that she knew exactly how far he was going and when.

“I wish that I could witness,  
All your joy,  
And all your pain.”

Blaine sang, Kara continued as soon as they made it to each other. But this time they didn’t just grab hands. 

“But until my moment comes,  
I’ll say;”

Kara began, as Blaine put his hands on her hips, and in a surprising moment of strength, he lifted her into the air. She put her hands on his shoulders for added leverage, as he spun her to the side and they continued to sing. 

“I~  
I did it all!  
I~  
I did it all!”

They sang, Blaine finally put her down. Kara turned away and walked over to a boy with dirty blonde hair. She had been talking to him right before Barry walked into the restaurant. This time her attention was on him, while Blaine’s had shifted to Kurt.

“I owned every second that this world could give!  
I saw so many places,  
The things that I did!  
With every broken bone,  
I swear I lived!”

They both sang. Blaine held Kurt’s hand and spun him into a circle, while Kara did the same with the guy, but he dipped her down so she was almost touching the floor before pulling her up. The group was quick to add the backup ‘with every broken bone’ as Blaine and Kara once again grabbed each other’s attention and started walking towards each other again.

“I swear I lived,  
I swear I…  
I~  
I did it all!  
I~  
I did it all!  
I owned every second that this world could give!  
I saw so many places,  
The things that I did!  
With every broken bone,  
I swear I lived!”

They both sang, clasping one of their hands together and walking into a circle, speeding up as they sang. They finally approached the ending and Blaine held her hand and used it to spin her in a circle. She continued to spin in a circle, each spin getting faster, but her voice wasn’t hesitating or wavering at all. She wasn’t getting tired due to her enhanced endurance. 

“I swear I lived!”

Blaine stopped her and pushed her outwards, then she spun back against his arm, moving against his body. She put her free hand on his shoulder, and he put his free hand on the small of her back and dipped her backwards, one of her feet going into the air. 

Barry couldn’t tell whose applause was louder, the Warblers or the New Directions. He was honestly surprised that Kara could learn that kind of choreography without any sort of practice. He let out a short sigh, he’d ask her about the ‘baby’ comment later. 

When they got off stage, he heard small arguments being made around the room about who’d done better. The Warblers seemed to be slightly better at singing, and they were also great dancers, but damn it if Kara and Blaine’s chemistry wasn’t beyond perfect.

“The winner will be chosen before the top three show choir groups are announced!” A voice came over the speakers. 

Right after the first group started singing after the intermission, he seen Kara walking towards him. She was back in her golden dress. He stood up as she got closer, the teams were between groups so he could stand up without complaint. 

“You were amazing. I’ve never seen you dance like that.” He said with a smile, she smiled back and went in for a hug. They both sat down and she let out a soft sigh. 

“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” She asked, looking a bit guilty. Barry reached out and put his hand on top of hers. 

“It’s okay. We’ll talk about it later, it was a weird way to find out, but I’m not mad.” He said with a soft smile. How could he be mad? The only thing that frustrated him was the fact they’d probably need to get a bigger house. 

Kara leaned her head on to his shoulder. It was nice for both of them, to always have someone who understands. She didn’t get mad at him for keeping his past a secret, and he wasn’t mad she was keeping the possible pregnancy a secret. 

They watched the clubs go by, some were okay, others were good, there were a few great ones. Finally, the sixteenth after the intermission came on, the Warblers. He was glad to see them.

He seen Thad walking over to them and sitting next to him with a smug expression. “What’s up with you?” Barry asked, raising a brow. 

“Watch.” Thad answered simply. Barry was skeptical, but he decided not to question it for now.

Barry smiled as the Warblers came on. First they sang Castle On The Hill, Vanilla Twilight, then… Light ‘em Up with Carter as the lead. 

“Thad?” Barry asked hesitantly, Thad only glanced over and smirked. 

Honestly, the kid was a sensation. His voice got people standing, clapping, cheering, and the song wasn’t even over yet. But when he spun in a quick circle, Barry froze. 

“Kara…?” He asked hesitantly, when she didn’t answer, he looked over to her. She was staring at the blonde boy with wide eyes. 

“I seen it…” She finally replied. They both watched closely as the teenager continued to dance, but it was only them who noticed. The movements were much too quick, and every so often, a yellow flash of lightning would appear somewhere on the boys’ body. Barry had a feeling about the kid, but he didn’t expect the feeling to come from the Speed Force instead of himself.

When the song ended, Barry leaned over to look at Thad. “Hey, who is that kids parents?” He asked Thad, leaning forward slightly. 

“We don’t know, all we know is that he’s in foster care and his foster parents shipped him off to Dalton. They’re actually from here, I think that might be why he’s been so on edge lately.” Thad said with a small shrug. 

“That’s interesting, I’d honestly adopt the kid… You know… For his voice.” Barry said in a joking manor, he needed to find this kids foster parents and ask about him. 

“Well, he is up for adoption. No one wants a teenager though.” Thad shrugged before standing up. “I’ve got to meet up with them, they did a good job.” Thad told him. 

“Tell Carter he was really good for me.” Barry commented.

When Thad walked away, his head snapped towards Kara. “Kara, I think that kid is a Speedster.” He said bluntly.

“You think?” Kara said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. “Look, maybe we should just leave it… I don’t think it would be safe to take on a teenage Speedster, especially with another kid on the way. Two Speedster’s, a Kryptonian, and two babies. That sounds like a cheesy TV show that ends after one season.” She said with a sigh. 

“… You’re probably right. We can’t just take in every meta we find on the street. But-“ Barry began, but was quickly cut off by Kara. “Barry, we just don’t have the room.” She insisted. Even though she wanted more than anything to take in the kid, if only to prevent him from using his powers to do something terrible, they just didn’t have the money. Barry let out a defeated sigh. 

“Okay, but maybe just think about it a little more?” He asked, Kara glared at him for a moment. “Fine. But the answer is still going to be no.” She responded stubbornly. 

They sat through the rest of the competition in silence. It would be a lie to say Kara wasn’t spending most of her time trying to figure out how they could help the kid. 

“It’s time to announce the winner of the intermission contest.” The voice came again, making Kara and Barry shoot up and hurry backstage to gather with their team. 

“I’d like to invite the veteran Warblers and veteran New Directions to the stage!” The voice said, just as they made it to their respective groups. The two teams walked on to the stage confidently. Barry and Kurt exchanged confident glances. 

“First, we will present the individual MVP award!” The man standing next to a table of trophy’s said, picking up a small trophy as he opened the envelope. 

“The winner is… Sebastian Smythe!” The man called out, Barry smiled and walked forward, accepting the trophy. It was most likely the backflip that got him the small trophy.

“Now, the winner of the Warbler and New Directions stand off… Is… The New Directions!” The man called out, making Kara grab Blaine’s hands and jump up and down excitedly while Kurt walked over and took the trophy, smirking in Barry’s direction. Barry rolled his eyes and mumbled a curse word under his breath.

But he couldn’t help but let the annoyance slip away when Kara came over and hugged him. “We won! And I helped!” She said with a smile, it made Barry roll his eyes. “Oh please, you practically carried the team.” He said with a smirk. It made Kara giggle, but she still shook her head. “You can be so rude sometimes.” She tsked before walking back over to stand with the New Directions. They let her hold the trophy, her smile was so bright, and she was so happy that he couldn’t help but feel one of his own tugging on the corner of his lips.

“Good job Barry.” Wes said, walking over to Barry with a small smile. 

“Thanks… But we didn’t win.” He sighed, but Wes waved his hand dismissively. “That’s fine, our successors will still win. We’re just rusty, they’ve been practicing to win this.” He said with a smile. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Hey Barry?” Thad asked, Barry quickly turned around, a bit surprised by the sudden appearance. “Yes?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Would you, maybe, want to stand with the kids when the win Nationals. You’re the MVP of us, so maybe you’ll bring us some good luck.” He said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Barry scoffed at the question. “We don’t need luck, these kids have talent.” He said, before smiling. “But sure, if you think it will help.” He said, Thad gave him a small nod. They were all shooed off stage soon after Thad asked the question. 

Barry walked back to see the teenagers, they were murmuring excitedly, wondering if they’d place in the top ten. Barry decided not to reprimand them for thinking they were any less than first place. It would make their reactions all the more genuine. The announcer was quick to call the top ten teams to the stage. It included the New Directions and Warblers.

Barry stood with the kids, Kurt was of course standing with the New Directions. Barry looked at Kara from the stage, when they made eye contact she held up her crossed fingers excitedly, he did the same gesture but a bit more subtly.

The announcer was slowly chipping away at the ten groups, handing off trophies that were growing in size. The kids were practically shaking with excitement, the idea of placing so high was insane to them. 

Finally, it came down to the final three. The third place trophy was handed off to some group that Barry honestly didn’t bother to learn the name of. 

They finally gave out the MVP trophy, which went to an ecstatic Carter Kingsley, Barry couldn’t help but feel a smidge of pride. Two Speedsters won MVP awards at the same contest. 

Finally, it went on to picking the official winner.

The New Directions and Warblers were on the edges of their seats, winning meant so much to each team. 

“Now… The team who impressed the judges the most, the team who deserves the title of the best Show Choir in America… Is… Dalton Academy’s Warblers!” The voice rang out in the silent room. Confetti rained down from above the stage, Barry walked over and took the large trophy from the man holding it. Then he handed it off to the boy, Anthony, who was the lead in the first two songs. 

After a few minutes of celebrating, the group was led offstage. Barry looked over his shoulder, sending a smirk at Kurt before he left with the Warblers. 

The New Directions were disappointed, but most of them seemed glad that they even placed.

When the Warblers got backstage, the veteran Warblers started complimenting and congratulating them. Barry smiled at the sight, then shook his head. 

“Um, Mr. Sebastian?” An unfamiliar voice called, he turned around and seen Carter standing there. 

“I just wanted to say thanks… You know, for helping me out. Singing like that, it made me feel better.” He said shyly, Barry didn’t expect him to be as shy as he seemed. Especially considering the way he could sing.

“Don’t mention it. You’re a good kid… Keep singing.” He said, then walked away before Carter had the chance to say anything else.

He quickly made his way back to Kara, she looked pretty tired. 

“Let’s go home before they have a chance to stop us.” Barry said with a small chuckle. Kara laughed before nodding. They managed to blend into the crowd and leave the building without being stopped, they hurried to their car and were on the road before they knew it. 

“Can we stop at the drug store on the way?” Kara asked, they both knew what she needed. They went out of the way and made it to the closest one before making their purchase and going home.

Before they knew it, they were sitting on the bathroom floor waiting to grab the pregnancy test that had probably finished five minutes ago. Kara had used the cheapest one at the store, so Barry persuaded her to get a better one, just to be 100%. 

“Are you ready?” Barry asked, looking at Kara. “As I’ll ever be.” The blonde said with a sigh, Barry reached up and grabbed it from the edge of the sink. They both froze at the result.

“Negative.” Kara said, staring at the test. She wasn’t sure how she felt, was she disappointed, or relieved?

Barry let out a sigh. “I’m actually kind of glad, I’m not sure I can do the whole ‘baby’ thing a second time.” He let out a breathy laugh. She smiled at him, she honestly agreed, having another kid would put on more stress than two superheroes could handle. Maybe another time, when they’re ready, not by accident. 

Barry tossed the test into the bathroom bin and helped Kara off of the floor. She leaned forward and kissed Barry. 

“Today has been really stressful and exhausting.” She said, leaning against his body. 

Barry put his hands on her hips. “I know how to relieve some of that stress.” He hummed into her ear. 

“What did you have in mind?” She asked, her face was still buried against his chest, but he could feel her smirk. 

“Let’s go to the bedroom and find out.” He said, pulling her closer and leaning over to playfully bite her neck. Kara giggled before pulling away. “I can work with that.” She said, grabbing him by the front of his blazer and pulling him in for a deep kiss. 

Their tongues danced between them for a moment, and they barely pulled away removing their clothes piece by piece until everything was on the bathroom floor. 

Barry put his hands on Kara’s hips, and in a sudden gust of wind, she was pinned to the sheets of their bed with Barry on top of her. 

“I love it when you do that.” She said with a smirk. 

“I know.” He responded, leaning down and kissing her deeply once again. 

That night… Well, lets just say it was one of their better ones.

**Author's Note:**

> Opinions? What should I write next?


End file.
